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By: Ellen Cans
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso says the Turkish government sent him a gift of eight gold-plated porcelain tea sets after he was sworn in to his position. As reported by the NY Post, he said he was puzzled by the gift and returned it but now sees it differently after his predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams, was indicted last week. In an interview with PIX 11 News on Monday, Reynoso said he also turned down a trip to Turkey offered by the Turkish government. “It seems that (Adams’) office in the past gave them an opportunity in the past and they tried to take that with me as well,” he said. PIX11 anchor Dan Mannarino tweeted about the Reynoso interview, writing, “Looking back, he says he now can see why.”
The two gifts that Reynoso says he turned down seem to mirror the Turkish perks that federal prosecutors say Adams happily received during his tenure as Brooklyn borough president between 2014 and 2021. These gifts were the basis of today’s bribery and corruption indictment against Mayor Adams.
Reynoso took over as borough president in 2021, when Adams became Mayor. Reynoso told PIX11 that early in his tenure, the Turkish consulate invited him out to Turkey. “They said they would ‘take care of it,’” he said. “They had mentioned the mayor’s travel to Turkey before, and they had said we want you to travel as well,” he said. “Looking back, I definitely feel it was an intro to building a good relationship with me through gifts and so forth.” “Those are just things the consulate should know they shouldn’t be doing with elected officials here in New York,” he said. “Now, looking at everything, they knew very well what they can and can’t do,” he said.
Per the Post, the Brooklyn Borough President right before Adams, Marty Markowitz, had been slapped with a $20,000 fine in 2011 from the NYC’s Conflicts of Interest Board for having similarly accepting free flights for his wife to accompany him on two trips to Turkey.
Adams, who became New York City’s 110th mayor in 2021, was charged last week with five criminal counts, following an extensive federal investigation. According to the to the 57-page indictment unsealed Thursday morning, the charges include accepting bribes from the Turkish government, illegal campaign contributions and an attempted cover-up, per the allegations. Per ABC News, Adams, 64, faces one count of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy, two counts of solicitation of a contribution from a foreign national and one count of bribery. Prosecutors say Adams accepted over $100,000 in improper benefits, in the form of flight upgrades, luxury hotel stays, free meals and fancy boat tours, gifted from the Turkish government and officials.
The gifts were not publicly divulged as required. Federal prosecutors allege that in return the mayor had leaned on the fire department to speed up a safety certificate approval for the 36-story Turkish House to open. If found guilty, the mayor may even face significant prison time.
Mayor Adams has vowed to stay in office and has pleaded not guilty on all counts. “This case isn’t even a real case,” the mayor’s lawyer Alex Spiro said on Friday.
